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Andrew Sullivan's conspiracy theory
Israel Matzav —
... for that last statement. So [9/11 is] our fault, not for bombing people, but for allying ourselves with a Western-style democracy which may not be perfect but far surpasses anything else in the region. Does Saudi Arabia offer more freedom and liberty to its people than Israel? Jordan? Egypt? Syria? Iran? None of this matters to Andrew Sullivan. To him, all of the opposition to Freeman is ' hysterical bullying ' by Israel's supporters to make sure that no one with Freeman's views has access to 'real power' in Washington (Hat Tip: ...
Andrew Sullivan's Money Quote
Riehl World View —
... Andrew Sullivan takes up the cause for Chas Freeman. Judge that however you might. But in so doing, his final sentence is something of a hoot. I guess Freeman can relax unless he's ever had an unmarried daughter with child. Obviously hysterical bullying would be absolutely fine in that case as far as Andy is concerned. ...
Saturday reading: Kenny
Ben Smith's Blog —
Obama "rarely read[s] blogs," which is weird, because I thought that was him in the comments section the other day.
Andrew Sullivan offers a Freeman timeline, showing that the early agitation came from pro-Israel sorts.
Worth noting, however, that he was still appointed after all that; if he goes down, things like this letter from Chinese dissidents may be the final straw.
A little less conversation: Two big unions drop out of a health care parley, as old battle lines reassert themselves.
Ron Brownstein ...
The Assault on Chas Freeman
Swampland —
... The second argument comes from Andrew Sullivan, who reconstructs the history of the campaign against Freeman--and finds it launched primarily by neoconservatives, who don't like Freeman's position on Israel. Sullivan notes that Jeff Goldberg, who favors a two-state solution and has criticized the Israeli settler movement, bases his case against Freeman on a single speech. It's a pretty tough speech, filled with the sort of, well, candor, that rarely is heard in Washington when it comes to Israel. Here's a slice of it: ...
Chas Freeman
Talking Points Memo —
... the issue here, arguing that it's not the time to be enforcing groupthink on Israel or other critical policy issues. And Andrew Sullivan has been doing great blogging on this topic in general and in this timeline in particular, which shows the whole storm being whipped up by neoconservatives upset over Freeman's positions on Israel. Finally, 17 former Ambassadors -- including Thomas Pickering -- have now ...
Signs of Progress
Antiwar.com Original —
... on behalf of Israel (see this timeline ). Very early on, a struggle for the heart and soul of the Obama administration is taking place within the national security bureaucracy, with the "realists" arrayed against the Lobby and the "national security Democrats" grouped around the ...
Chas Freeman and China
The Atlantic Politics Channel —
... - I don't think anyone seriously contends that Freeman's views on China are the central reason for the opposition to him. As Andrew Sullivan convincingly (IHMO) demonstrated, the real argument, for better or worse, concerns his views on Israel. ...
Today in Chas Freeman Blogging
Matthew Yglesias —
... . Josh has personal beef with Freeman over an unrelated issue that led Freeman to tag him as a purveyor of “slime journalism.” But also says that “the whole effort strikes me as little more than a thuggish effort to keep the already too-constricted terms of debate over the Middle East and Israel/Palestine locked down and largely one-sided.” You can see Andrew Sullivan’s timeline for more on this. ...
Rebuttals to the “Chas Freeman is a realist” arguments
Sister Toldjah —
... in terms of their disappointment with the Obama administration over this decision. But, as expected, inevitably there would be diehard Obama supporters like Andrew Sullivan and ...
In Search of an Honest Middle East Broker
The Moderate Voice —
... is the NIC Chief’s stated positions on Israel. You can click through the jump above for the full serving of claptrap, but the issue has brought my mind back to an older question. We’ve had U.S. presidents attempting to broker a lasting peace in the Middle East for most of my adult life. I am in no way implying that the task is an easy one, but how has the most powerful nation in the world failed so dismally on this particular diplomatic front? A small hint may be found in a recent piece on the subject by Andrew Sullivan. ...
L'affaire Freeman
Real Clear Politics - TIME.com —
... . I find Freeman's views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as summed up in the "money quote" in this post from Andrew , to be quite lacking in the "balance" that many argue the U.S. needs in its approach. This isn't balance so much as one-sided Israel-blaming, for everything including the failure to "gain [the] admiration and affection" of any of its neighbors. (How many of them were prepared to extend it?) That aside, though, there really are other reasons to not want Freeman in a high-level foreign policy position. Jonathan Chait ...
Rosen is Suing AIPAC
NJDC Blog —
... “the three fire alarm” surrounding Chas Freeman, and that somehow he is evidence that the so-called “Israel Lobby” drove the anti-Freeman campaign, may want to consider the following: ...
NYT's Baquet defends handling of Freeman
Michael Calderone's Blog —
... However, there was relentless coverage within the blogosphere, whether right and left, that proved instrumental in Freeman eventually stepping down.
My colleague Ben Smith, who's been on top of the saga, pointed out on Tuesday night that Freeman withdrawing showed how a story “doesn't need ever to cross into more traditional media precincts to play out with congressional involvement and executive action.”
The Atlantic’s Andrew Sullivan, in a time-line of coverage online, wrote that Foreign Policy’s Laura Rozen kicked things ...
Jeff Stein: Saudis Impotent in Battle Over Freeman for Intelligence Post
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
... continues, it is utterly unrealistic to expect that Palestinians will stand down from violent resistance and retaliation against Israelis."
But some maintained that the Israeli lobby was not "very involved" in Freeman's defeat, as one of his opponents, Illinois Republican Rep. Mark Steven Kirk, said to CQ reporter Tim Starks.
"Had this been simply a dispute over Middle East policy, Ambassador Freeman would have survived," Kirk said.
But some called that a smokescreen.
The issue was Israel, as Sen. Charles E. Schumer, the New ...
My Take on the Freeman Thing
Shadow of the Hegemon —
... the issue here, arguing that it's not the time to be enforcing groupthink on Israel or other critical policy issues. And Andrew Sullivan has been doing great blogging on this topic in general and in this timeline in particular, which shows the whole storm being whipped up by neoconservatives upset over Freeman's positions on Israel. Finally, 17 former Ambassadors -- including Thomas Pickering -- have now ...
That New York Times Epilogue to Chas Freeman
The Corner on National Review Online —
... inside knowledge. Indeed, it seems much more likely that Freeman's cheerleading for Chinese interests and positions was more of a problem for the people like Nancy Pelosi and the Hollywood Tibet crowd, both of whom have Obama's ear. To be fair, Mazzetti and Cooper may have nothing to do with the headline that might have been put on by any random editor. But it certainly does appear that Mazzetti and Cooper were lazy they appeared to outline their story based on Andrew Sullivan's " timeline ," which, unfortunately, Sullivan cherrypicked to omit the China concerns. ...
Charles Freeman's Victory�
Antiwar.com Original —
... the anti-Freeman movement (see this timeline ) and didn't even try to hide his key role in the affair. The Lobby was desperate to keep Freeman out of the NIC because it's an agency that provides key intelligence for the President and Congress. If you'll recall, ...
